In response to the final passage of House Bill 3052 by the Oklahoma House of Representatives, the American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma released the following statement:


May 2, 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:  Ryan Kiesel, Executive Director, ACLU of OK, 405.524.8511, rkiesel@acluok.org

“When HB 3052 was introduced earlier this session in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, it was far from perfect. However, as it moved through the political process even the modest reforms it offered to our broken criminal justice system and overincarceration crisis were turned on their head by the same political mindset that has stood in the way of true criminal justice reform for decades.”  

“While the ACLU of Oklahoma applauds Speaker Kris Steele for his commitment to reform, we cannot help but be disappointed that the final version of HB 3052 is more notable for what it does not do, rather than for what it does, and in practice it has the potential to dig us even deeper into our current prison crisis.”

“Perhaps the greatest danger as we move forward is if future policy makers look at HB 3052 as having addressed the serious problems with our criminal justice system.  It has not.
We call on the policy makers of today to send a clear message to future legislatures that the work towards real criminal justice reform remains unfinished.”

All comments attributable to Ryan Kiesel, Executive Director of the ACLU of Oklahoma

 

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